In Brief

Pernix Therapeutics Holdings Inc. and SEEK, a U.K.-based pharmaceutical research group, will work together to develop and launch a new non-opioid, non-narcotic persistent cough treatment – BC1036 – in the U.S. and Europe. The firms estimate 12% of the general population suffers from coughs, and in the U.S. 40 million households use OTCs as a first-line treatment annually. Under the arrangement Pernix will focus on marketing the product in Canada and the U.S., where annual sales for OTC cough treatments exceed $2 billion, according to a May 15 release. SEEK, formerly PepTcell, will focus on the rest of the world. This licensing deal replaces a joint venture the firms launched in December 2010 to facilitate late-stage development and registration of BC1036.

FDA reminds Quadex Pharmaceuticals in a May 7 warning letter that OTC products cannot use the term “herpes” alone in...